Thoughts while waiting for Day 2 of the Republican National Convention to begin:
Donald J. Trump must be feeling lucky.
On Saturday, he wins the staying alive lottery by surviving an assassination attempt by maybe an inch, and then on Monday, a friendly judge dismisses the charges of mishandling classified documents, just as his coronation convention was leaving the launch pad in Milwaukee, a city made famous by Schlitz, according to the beer’s advertising.
Trump’s pockets must be stuffed with four-leaf clovers.
He was already ahead marginally in most polls. The assassination attempt may help him over time. Sympathy vote, along with “God must be on his side” vote. More on God later.
Speaking of polls, that Joe Biden remains so close means that his disastrous debate performance didn’t hurt him much.
That surprises me, and should surprise those who are trying to get him to step aside.
However, many of my Democratic friends are hanging crepe, believing Joe can’t pull out a victory, nor can any other Democrat.
I am agnostic on that point. I just don’t know.
Trump should get a so-called “convention bounce,” but not all conventions produce bounces.
And Biden, also, should get a convention bounce next month, but the Democrats need to put on a really spectacular show. (Don’t count on George Clooney being given a speaking slot.)
Speaking of convention slots, did you see and hear Teamsters President Sean O’Brien tear corporate elites a new ayehole and deliver a rip-roaring pro-union speech before a party that has generally been hostile to unions?
The one-time tractor-trailer driver didn’t endorse Trump, but his appearance would have to be seen as a green light to vote for Trump by at least some of the 1.3 million American Teamsters.
I was watching on C-SPAN, which broadcasts everything that is happening on stage, without commentary. CNN was live all night, but had its panel analyzing and pontificating, and did not cover many speeches by “lesser” people, so CNN viewers did not see the parade of Black and Hispanic speakers proudly and loudly endorsing Trump.
Maybe CNN did carry Amber Rose, who was introduced as from South Philadelphia, and a TV star.
Rose has not been from South Philly since she was a stripper, not that there’s anything wrong with that. The mother of Joe Biden’s youngest granddaughter was a stripper. It’s all in the family.
Rose is perhaps best known for “dating” Kanye West, the noted rapper, Trump supporter, and anti-Semite. (Personally, I do not believe Trump is an anti-Semite.) So who better than Rose to defend Trump against charges that he is a racist? (Personally, I do not believe Trump is a racist.)
Rose did so effectively, based on “research” she had done. She did not specify where she had done the research, perhaps on NewsMax. She said she came from a multi-racial family, and her father had been a Trump supporter from the jump.
She now proudly wears the red hat, she said.
Which drove MSNBC’s Joy Reid further up the wall than usual, saying Rose isn’t even Black (even though Rose is bi-racial, like Barack Obama, with whom Reid has no problem.)
Speaking of Joy, we now arrive at the attack portion of our program.
If you took joy in the assassination attempt, WTF is wrong with you?
The delight came from Democrats — certainly not all of them, but that’s where it came from, from the same people who overwhelmingly oppose capital punishment. Am I wrong?
The same people who say crime rates are exaggerated and criminals are misunderstood.
The same people with “Hate Has No Home Here” signs posted in their yards.
Locally, the fire marshal of a suburban town had to resign after posting a comment to the effect he was sorry the shooter missed, Another “tolerant” progressive heard from.
In my building, a blissful progressive with a stunning lack of self-awareness was sharing her glee with anyone who would listen, assuming everyone felt as she did.
She was wrong.
So where does this hate come from? And it is hate.
Well, if you call Trump a fascist, a Nazi, Hitler even, what do you expect? Would it be wrong to kill Hitler?
Of course not.
I always caution against Nazi references because that was a unique kind of evil, and using it on an American politician, no matter how loathsome, cheapens the millions killed by Hitler.
And so when I saw this “false flag” post — Reichstag Fire (another Hitler reference) — on Facebook from one of my more looney left friends, I knew she didn’t get her Ph.D. in political science. (It was gender studies, good luck turning that into success in the commercial job market.)
One of her genius friends said “Wag the dog,” which is an expression meaning to divert attention from something more important to something less important.
But what is the diversion here?
The Democrats are on the brink of civil war over Biden. The axiom is when your opponent is tearing himself apart — let him.
Trump has been unusually quiet for days, because he understands when Dems fight, he wins.
But let’s not think it’s just the Dems tossing verbal bombs. Republicans have (also) been calling their opponent a threat to democracy, who has unleashed the Department of Justice on their candidate. (Also on Hunter Biden and Bob Menendez, but they forget to mention that.) MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said the “fate of the world hangs in the balance” of the election’s outcome.
I am not saying name-calling does not have a place in American life. It does. I do it. But I try to craft the name to the individual’s characteristics.
So I may refer to Biden as a liar, bumbler, and plagiarist, because he is.
And I may refer to Trump as a serial liar, a narcissist of low moral character, because he is that, too.
But Hitler? No.
And Biden a puppet of Obama? No.
Just a couple more.
After the (inept) Secret Service threw themselves on Trump and got him to his feet, he kept asking them to let him put his shoes on. One shoe was left on the stage.
First, I call them inept because someone got a clear shot at a man they were guarding.
Next, photos clearly showed Trump’s head when they got him to his feet. Had there been a second gunman, he would have been just as easy a shot for the gunman as for the photographers.
Back to the shoes. Were they knocked off by the impact of the bullet? Seems unlikely. Did the Secret Service remove them for some reason? Does Trump remove them when he is speaking?
And finally, back to divine intervention.
Trump, who is not a religious man, seems to believe God saved him.
Does that mean he will change, because he was given a second chance?
Or will he double down on his bombast, thinking God has given him a big thumbs up?
I don’t know who is pulling Bidens strings but it certainly isn’t Biden. Just the last 2 weeks with his disastrous debate and his recent interviews it is perfectly obvious to anyone that he is not in control of his thought process. And the fact that he has any support at all is mind boggling. It just goes to show how hateful and uninformed these people are. Especially after living thru these last 4 years. And Stu when are you going to pull your endorsement of Biden.
I don’t endorse anyone. I simply say who I am voting for, and why.
As far as I’m concerned. When you have a platform like this saying who your voting for is a endorsement.
What does it matter how someone ELSE votes? Does someone ELSE’S vote matter so much it influences YOUR vote? An endorsement is worth spit. Vote your beliefs, vote your conscience. I appreciate that Stu tells us for whom he will vote; does not affect one whit how you or I may vote, right?
But he does have influence on people who can’t think for themselves. The uninformed sheep of the world.
That is as far as YOU are concerned. Endorsements tell you how to vote. I am just saying who I will vote for. I do not “endorse” Joe Biden. Mine is an anti Trump vote. If it were Biden vs Haley, I would vote for Nikki.
And nooo, it is not TDS. I oppose his isolationist foreign policy, including sucking off America’s enemies, disrespecting veterans syarting with John McCain, his incoherent remarks, his lack of intellectual depth.
Daniel’s argument is vote from Trump or you are dumb. I’m really surprised it’s not convincing people to change their vote.
Consider the source.
👍👍👍👍👍
Compare the records. Peace and prosperity under Trump. Chaos and economic hardship under Biden. I question your judgment and wonder if you hate this country if you would vote for someone who has lost his mind.
Yes, I hate this country. And YOU are a true patriot.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
He was so successful, expect for that last year with the pandemic, which resulted in him losing the election, denying he lost and trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. You left that part out.
More and more people are leaving Biden behind and realize he was a major mistake. I don’t think there are enough dummies to re-elect Brain dead Biden. Only the haters will vote for Biden.
I love how you don’t address my points because you can’t without saying you know what he did and you don’t care.
First of all you can deny anything in this country. It’s not against the law. And he did not try to prevent the election results.
It’s not true that he didn’t try and stop the transfer of power. If your argument is it’s not against the law to keep denying he lost, you have lost. Simply ridiculous.
Agree…..If it’s not Obama, we are quibbling. It’s certainly his advisors. If not Obama who is the leader of the D party? Cannot be Biden, everything is teed up for him. …from Daniel (not me) above,
“It just goes to show how hateful and uninformed these people are. Especially after living thru these last 4 years.” Two things come to mind and both I have seen in my life. “TDS” is real and as grandmom said. “a blind man can’t see”! Forget party and personalities, let’s make our decision based on what will be best for America. GBA.
I disagree. Just because an older man, burdened by the constant demands of the toughest job in the world, has trouble with verbal processing does not mean he cannot think clearly and have policies he is trying to implement. What he has done and is doing is all Joe Biden.
Do you not understand that his issues go well beyond “verbal processing”? Verbal processing doesn’t result in 10-4 work hours with nap.
Stu:
A second thought while waiting for day 2 of the Republican National Convention to begin–that AP photograph that stretches like a mini-billboard atop your column, capturing a clenched fist Donald Trump, a blood-streaked ear and cheek, surrounded by Secret Service agents, the American flag in the background, just might sway election. In terms of an iconic image, it brings to mind the photograph of the US Marines on February 23, 1945, raising the American flag atop Mount Suribachi after winning the battle for Iwo Jima. This observation is in my view, of course.
Your view was shared by others that I saw online. Great minds… He will probably win a Pultizer for being in the right place at the right time.
I certainly was not gleeful that Trump was shot. I was panicked, knowing full well that The Monster has now a become a marter. To those that believe God intervened, I guess the man who died while actually trying to save his family was not worthy of God’s intervention? And to very minor celebrity Amber who? Most people “of a certain age” had no idea who she is. Now EVERYONE knows who she is. Coincidence? And as to vile rhetoric causing violent behavior, notice no Repugs try to prohibit the proliferation of weapons of mass murder, nor even dared to mention the fact that anyone can be the next target with so many guns flooding our nation. Hypocrites all.
You are living proof that there is no wall as impenetrable as a closed mind.
As you often do, you insult me personally because you have NOTHING intelligent to say. And you even repeat your insults. Grow up.
Truth hurts, doesn’t it. And Vince is correct. It’s not an insult; it’s constructive criticism.
Why have you not said that to Daniel?
You and your party mercilessly crush a man, his family and his supporters every day for more than four years.
Now you say you want “unity.” But you keep using terms like “Repugs.”
YOUR hypocrisy knows no bounds. You can kiss my ass.
And you, SaraT, can KISS MY ASS!
Can’t you repugs tone down your vulgarity?
It is obvious that they cannot. That is why I have decided to fight fire with fire. I have held off making personal attacks to those maggott name callers for quite a while now but no more.
Sara: Look at your canidate. He not only asks for this treatment by his own actions, he thrives off it. To paint him as a victim is hilarious. For any D insult, Trump himself has 50 own his own. Read the room.
I guess the woman who walks down the street at 3 AM in a skimpy outfit is asking for it by her own actions. Probably thrives off it.
See, sooner or later a persons true heart gets exposed. And don’t try to tell me it’s apples and oranges. I don’t fall for that anymore.
Did you hurt your legs making that leap? You’re coming a rape victim to Trump? Holy irony….quit while you are behind.
I sure as shit would start believing in God if I came that close to getting my brains blown out. Who will win this mud slinging event? Well, nobody on social media, that’s for sure. So much finger pointing, so little facts. So much hate so little figuring on who would do what for who. I’m kind of sick of it. I made my mind up long before the shooting, the memory lapses, and the convention pushes. If you can’t or won’t figure this out without insulting eachother constantly, then I guess you are voting for your imagination. Neither of these men exist in the real world. Just parts of them.
If the cost of living under Biden’s presidency
has had little or no effect on you, that’s great. I’m happy for you. But for most Americans it has. Having said that the bottom line for all Americans should be the border. November 5th cannot come soon enough for me.
It’s funny how you get to define what all Americans should care about. It’s about denying election losses and trying to subvert the transfer of power for me.
I can’t say God was with Trump. I can say Lady Luck was on his side. Lady Luck was not with the Fire Chief who died protecting his family. Lady Luck and God’s presence are subjective. However in the interest of an informed America, we should be able to cast our votes knowing the mental and physical health status of the Candidates for President. Both candidates should be required to take cognitive tests and the results must be provided to the public. The next leader of the free world can and will be making important decisions that will have gigantic consequences for our nation. I believe we have a right to know without excuses if both are physically and mentally able to perform their duties. It may be both are having difficulty because of their advanced age we should be informed about their current condition.
One small point: it seems pretty clear that Trump was not hit by an AR-15 bullet. Those things are huge, and they do massive damage to the human body. I think it’s pretty clear that he was hit by shrapnel from the glass teleprompter that was somewhere above his head, and clearly showed damage in the photos I’ve seen of the incident. Just a clarification.
As a Centrist Liberal (or that’s what I used to be prior to the definition of that changing over the past decade), I take no joy nor do I celebrate an assassination attempt by a twisted individual. But yes, I do believe the world would be a better place without Trump in it. Why? He is simply a horrible human being who has harmed far too many people during his lifetime of crime, cheating poor contractors by the thousands.
I’ve spoken to many of them over the years, including a gentleman just last night who worked in New York (he is now retired). Trump cheated him and his firm out of $10,000 via his usual tried and true method: he makes purchases of goods or services, refuses to pay for them, and tells the poor contractors that if they take him to court, he will use his massive legal resources to stall and stall, forcing the little guys to spend tons of money (they don’t have) on lawyers so that all their funds are depleted before they are able to collect anything at all.
This is not hyperbole. This is EXACTLY how this creep conducted his entire life, and there are PLENTY of folks in New York and New Jersey who would be happy to tell you their stories. Is THIS the guy you wanted running your country?
I sure don’t.
AR15 bullets are relatively small. The design was to cause damage with quantity, not size like a sniper round.
Yes this is definitely the guy to run the country. He will stand up against our world enemies, instead of trying to appeasing everyone. He will also quickly fire people who don’t do their job (ie head of Secret Service).
Having covered him in Atlantic City, I can attest to his grifting.
Stu, If you do not believe that Trump is an antisemite. Please explain what you think of Trump’s statement that American Jews who do not vote Republican are traitors.
Exactly the same of Biden’s “if you don’t vote for me, you’re not Black.”
Just stupidity.
So when Trump hosted a small group of antisemites at the White House for a private dinner what was that? People used to say the same thing about the Germans in the 1920’s and 1930’s, they were wrong then like you are wrong now.
Yawn